FRANKFORT, Ky. – Over 60 Kentucky National Guard Soldiers with the 2113th Transportation Company transported 625,000 pounds of explosive ordnance more than 2,200 miles through five states as part of their annual training June 2-10.
The unit safely transported the ordinance between Paducah Kentucky, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Oklahoma, and the Naval Support Activity in Crane, Indiana, during Operation Patriot Press.
Operation Patriot Press is an Army Materiel Command initiative that links National Guard units to real-world missions for annual training. Army National Guard and Reserve units and various affiliates from across the country work together to complete the exercise and improve the readiness of Guard and Reserve components.
This year’s annual training involved 20 new Soldiers experiencing a mission of this magnitude for the first time.
“Soldiers were extremely motivated and dedicated to mission success overall,” said Capt. Michael Owen, the 2113th company commander. “This is far more noteworthy given several challenges and hardships with the passing of several individuals and prior service Soldiers very close to the 2113th family during annual training.”
In the days leading up to the mission, there were required route changes due to state Department of Transportation conflicts. There are many restrictions on transporting sensitive items such as ammunition across state lines, including weight limitations.
“Ultimately, we were able to make weight and readjust to our original plan,” said Owen. “The service we provided saved the Army an estimated $150 million in contractor costs alone.”
The ammunition transportation element was only one task the unit covered as a part of the training. Once the unit completed Operation Patriot Press, members returned to Wendel H. Ford Reginal Training Center for driver training, maintenance, and Army warrior tasks.
The unit completed this year’s annual training with a 72-hour force-on-force field training exercise mimicking what they might encounter on a modern battlefield.
“Our Soldiers performed well and proved themselves once again up to the task of undertaking such a high tempo operation,” said Owen. “All those involved have done not only a great service to the taxpayer but did so while increasing their technical and tactical competence, and of that I am quite proud.”